Question about older wheelsets
 

Hi All --

Wondering if you could help me out a bit --

I've got a '77 or so Basso frame that has a mostly original '88 Athena group except for the hubs and rims.

I would really like to put this back to all campy but don't know much about what my options are for campy hubs, etc. -- the bike is a 7 speed -- do I need to find some specific older campy components to get what i want or are there newer components that will fit my frame and '88 Athena group configuration? If I'm not mistaken I think the spacing is 126mm.

I'm new to this so my apologies if something doesn't make sense -- please let me know if I need to clarify anything in my description. My goal is to just give this bike some hubs/rims that it deserves, something nice and fast.

Search eBay for Campy freewheel hubs. Then you can put a 7-speed freewheel cassette on there.

For 8-speed or higher, you'll need a Campy freehub and they are 130mm. While you can easily wedge the rear wheel in there, it's tight. Better to coldset the rear dropouts to 130mm.

You can find Athena components on eBay; I've got Athena brake levers and a derailleur. I recently saw an Athena crankset.

Yes, there are newer components that will also fit. Pretty much everything. I'm using my Athena stuff with some older(90's) Campagnolo Chorus stuff to build up a bike. I'll be using an 8-speed rear hub with some new rims.

I'm guessing the Basso has 27" wheels so you'll have to hunt around for 27" rims but there are a lot of them still around, even new ones from Sun, Weinmann and Velocity.

I have an 8 speed freewheel. Kinda rare, but theyre out there.

But yea, as bbattle said, any freewheel road hub should treat you fine, 7 speed freewheels are not too hard to find.

I had a 1990 Bob Jackson in 2007 that had Campagnolo Omega rims. I've heard they're not the lightest, but they were fine for my use.

You can find Campy Super Record low-flange hubs in 126 mm rear spacing on Ebay nearly every week. These are some of the best rolling and best finished hubs of any, even compared to today's products. Campy was just crazy about bearing quality.

Try to get the skewers with the hubs. Even better is to get a set of tubular wheels with 32 or 36 holes with Campagnolo hubs. Very few people are buying these wheels now, and you will probably get a great and complete set of Campy hubs for less $$ than the hubs and rims seperately, and likely less than the hubs alone.

7 speeds? I wouldn't think that was available in 1977. Were the stays spread to allow this?

Campagnolo Nuovo Record high flange hubs, DT 14/15/14 gage spokes in 4 cross and 700c tubular rims would be authentic.

Certainly, it could be 7 speed at 126mm in the rear - either with a Tipo rear, or a compact seven speed freewheel.

A seven speed in 1977? I don't think so. Who made these in 1977?

1. 7-speed freewheels in either the compact or standard version will work on a 126mm hub.

2. 8-speed freewheels will work on a 126mm hub with minor adjustments to spacing. This setup tends to be over-dished. Its best to use and offset set or to space up to 130mm. Idealy 130mm spacing and an offset rim is best

3. While Campys bearing quality was the best available until New Dura Ace arrived in 1985, @ 1/1000 tolerance it certainly wasnt exceptional. IIRC 1/1000 = grade 100